Alabama v. Missouri Game Thread

Coming off by far the biggest win of the brief Nate Oats era, the Crimson Tide welcome in another set of Tigers, as Cuonzo Martin and Missouri come to Tuscaloosa. As important of a victory as this past Wednesday’s win over Auburn was, Alabama needs to turn the page quickly if they want that win to truly mean anything in the grand scheme of this season. The Tide have three straight games against teams that they should be solid favorites against (Alabama is favored by 6.5 today), and they will need to take care of business if they want to make a run at the NCAA Tournament come March.

In past years, I’d be expecting a loss in this game, if I’m being honest. But this year’s team is mentally tougher than the squads we’ve seen in the last ~15 years. Oats has made a huge difference in this program in such a short period of time. He’s really been a phenomenal hire by Greg Byrne and the Athletic Department.

Missouri is a solid team, and they are well-coached on the defensive end of the court. This will be a nice challenge for the Tide today. If Alabama is serious about contending for bigger prizes come March, they have to win today.

The game will tip-off at 2:30 PM CST and will be televised on the SEC Network.